So Battlefield 2 has been out for about a week now, and Brian and I are loving it. The official server has been doing pretty good. We had it set at 64 people, but the lag was just unbearable. Not due to the server, because the server wasn’t under heavy load, but due to known issues with EA’s Linux server code. So we cut it back to 32 people, and things have been running very smoothly.

The problem with that is that it cuts in half the number of people that can play, on a server that was already busting at the seams with people wanting to play at peak hours.

The second problem is that if you run your own server, it isn’t a ranked server. In order to get it ranked by EA, you have to jump through some hoops and basically give up control of your own server.

Everyone who has played on the CAD/8BT Official Server has said it is the best B2 experience they’ve ever had, and the reason is that CAD and 8BT fans are a really awesome group of people.

So I propose more servers.

Renting servers is not cheap, however, so I’m asking people to pitch in. This is how it will work:

You donate $5 to help out with the server. Once 64 (or 32) people have donated, we will rent a ranked, private server. The people who donated will be the only ones given the password to this server.

We will rent as many servers as needed to accomodate the people pitching in. There is no profiting involved here, this is what we’re paying per slot for the servers. If 96 people pitch in, we’ll rent two 64 person servers to balance the load. The passwords will be the same so that you can use either one.

Since server rental is a monthly thing, the passwords will change each month, and only people who continue to pitch in for their use of the server will receive the latest passwords.

We’ve proven that people are interested in playing with Brian, myself, and other fans on a private server. Now I want to do it right with an official ranked server, so that all of our playing be properly recorded. So if you want access to a private and ranked CAD/8BT server, click the button below to pitch in.

*EDIT: I’m going to stop taking donations until we get the first server (or two) set up and running. Once we’re under way, I’ll see about setting up more servers.